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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Posted: 31 Mar 2013 12:41 AM PDT

Legendary RTM stalwart Allan Zechariah came from an era when radio deejays were your best friends.

Allan Zechariah was always cool. Most of the disc jockeys on Radio 4 (Blue Network before that and Traxx FM today) had their own intro themes for the programmes they hosted back then. For his Sunday breakfast show in the late 1980s, Allan used instrumental guitarist Joe Satriani's crunching title track from his 1987 album Surfing With The Alien, which made him a firm favourite with the rock faithful.

If that didn't wake up the neighbours on a lazy Sunday morning, few things could. But that really was Allan, the guitar enthusiast, in a nutshell, never afraid to be adventurous and always willing to give new music – foreign and local – a shot.

His colleagues, who invariably became his friends – given his genial personality – remember him likewise. Traxx FM programme manager Philomena Pragasam said: "He gave a lot of opportunities to local musicians to have their music on air."

Music was always close to his heart. If he wasn't playing it on air, then he was busy playing guitar in his band, Z2K, with two other colleagues. Bandmate and buddy G. Krishnan shared: "Allan came up with the idea of having our own band with him on lead and rhythm guitar, Radha Krishnan on drums and me on bass. Z2K evolved to become the Z band, performing for weddings and corporate functions." Krishnan further explained that Z2K (obviously a pun on the Y2K phenomenon at the turn of the century) stood for "Zechariah and two Krishnans".

According to him, while Allan enjoyed his jazz and loved guitarists like Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis, he was also a fan of the king of the blues, B.B. King, and Latin rock hero Santana. "The Z band played old rock 'n' roll tunes. Allan did a good impersonation of Dean Martin," added Kirshnan, who was by his friend's bedside when he passed on last Tuesday.

Christopher Zechariah, who is Allan's youngest and sole surviving sibling (from a family of four brothers), remembered that Allan had a nickname 'Barney' during his school days in the 1950s (After jazz musician Barney Kessel). Born on March 23, 1942, Allan was schooled at St John's Institution and his family home was on Pasar Road in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.

"In those days, we used to raid our dad's 78rpm record collection. Be it showtunes, jazz, country or big band, the Zechariah boys had a wide range of music to discover on the family gramophone at home. That's probably where Allan picked up his early music knowledge," recalled Christopher.

"Allan also took a liking for American jazz guitarist Barney Kessel and he used to play a lot of Kessel tunes. His 'Barney' nickname stuck for a few years."

In 1957, Allan formed his first band The Drifters, which also included his brother Derrick.

Long-time friend Jeffrey Moey, who used to sing with the band, only had praise for Allan's guitar-playing and knack for turning up for a big occasion.

"I wasn't full-time with the band, but they were my buddies and we jammed together. The Drifters backed me up at the first Elvis Presley of Malaysia competition at Chin Woo (stadium) in Kuala Lumpur in 1958. I remember that day well ... I sang Elvis' One Night and the band ripped it up on stage! I won the contest and Allan was my Scotty Moore! (Elvis Presley's guitarist), he was lightning on guitar," reminisced Moey.

In recent years, The Z Band was Allan's main priority as he put in a lot of effort to revive the sounds of the past.

"We had regular jam sessions and Allan, in many ways, wanted this band to play music that not only rekindled old memories, but to also remind people of classic tunes that are timeless," said The Z Band drummer Ronnie Gaffor, who mentioned Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Elvis Presley and Jerry 'Lee' Lewis were some favourites.

Allan never shied away when it came to a photo with his beloved guitars, as his bandmates noted.

"He loved his guitars. He had three or four of them," confirmed Pragasam of her former colleague's passion for the instrument, intimating that his favourite instrument was placed in his casket.

Where his broadcasting work was concerned, Allan was the consummate (radio) voice, always able to perform to the highest standards of the profession. "Deejays today use gimmicks, but Allan could capture his audience with his voice, stories and knowledge of music," she said of her colleague, who flourished during the pre-format radio days.

Allan loved his job simply because he loved to talk, and that was his selling point.

"He used to get a lot of mail, and most of them were women. They were all crazy for him," revealed Pragasam.

But it was his calming personality that was called upon one particular day during his morning show. "A young girl called up saying she had an argument with her mother, and said she was on a building and contemplating suicide. Allan talked to the girl and calmed her down," she shared.

During that scary few minutes, he not only managed to coax the girl out of her plan, but got her to reveal her location so authorities could rescue her.

Pragasam is also grateful to Allan for promoting her weekly programme Children's Hour. "The programme won seven international awards, and Allan interviewed me twice for its success," she said of the veteran broadcaster she first met in the 1980s.

In Allan's early days at RTM, which he joined in 1966, there was a lot of freedom for him to develop his own shows, pick his own music and learn the broadcasting ropes.

Former RTM deejay Emile Moissinac, who was Allan's colleague at the station for over 30 years, remembered their friendship well.

"Allan and I joined RTM's English service broadcast on the same day back in 1966. He was a spontaneous guy, very sharp and witty. He was made for radio. We hit if off immediately as colleagues and friends. In fact, he used to come and pick me up on his Vespa Sprint every morning, have our breakfast in Bangsar and head to the studio at Federal House in Kuala Lumpur," said Moissinac, who kept country music close to his heart during his RTM years.

"As two young deejays back then, we had such a thrill picking out music for our shows. Work hours on some days started at 9am and ended at 11pm. We used to spend hours in the (RTM) library, looking up records and doing research for our programmes. It was exciting times to be a part of radio culture here. Allan would also point out a particular new record, and I would also tell him what I was into. Often enough, we had the same ... good taste," he added, with a smile.

Ronnie Atkinson, Allan's senior at Radio Malaysia, noted that Allan worked hard to build a broadcasting career for himself. It didn't happen overnight.

"He opted out of a law programme at the University of Singapore in 1963. He was a temporary teacher after that. Allan was very brainy, a real bookworm, but he had music in his heart. When the job at Radio Malaysia (RTM) arrived in 1966, he never looked back," said Atkinson, who used to produce shows with Allan as the deejay.

As a car enthusiast and music fan, Allan definitely relished his radio career, especially with opportunities to interview 1960s pop group The Shadows and British F1 racing driver Jackie Stewart in the 1970s. He knew how to turn up with excellent questions and make an interview interesting, according to Atkinson.

"The man was a real trooper. Full of passion. Even with so many programmes to produce, he would still smile and have the energy to go in the (radio) conti and charm the listeners. In the 1960s, I would say Allan and Mustapha Sheriff were the superstar voices on English radio. There were others, but both of them were special," he added.

"Apart from being a good guitarist, Allan used to also sing harmony vocals with his late brother Derrick. They were known as the local Everly Brothers," said Atkinson, who added that he produced the Talentime programme in the 1970s that featured Allan as the emcee.

When asked if Allan ever recorded any material professionally, his brother Christopher recalled that Allan and Derrick used to be in a harmony duo called The Zechariahs.

"They had a recording session with Life Records in the 1960s. But the music was never released," said Christoper.

In a reflective moment, Christoper added that all through his life Allan was the one that taught him to play instruments and shaped his music outlook.

"When I was a kid, Allan taught me to play the ukelele. Then we moved on to all sorts of instruments. Like any cool big brother, he had a cool record collection. When he used to do the jazz shows on RTM in the 1980s, I used to tape those programmes on cassette and learn so much about the music he played on air," he recalled.

Christopher concluded that he would be digging up some of those precious cassette recordings of Allan's radio shows real soon. Just like so many other listeners from a generation past, he might not be the only one dusting off some old cassettes featuring the "Voice of Malaysian radio".

A tribute to Leslie

Posted: 31 Mar 2013 12:21 AM PDT

IN conjunction with the 10th anniversary of Leslie Cheung's passing, local Chinese radio station 988 has dedicated the whole of April to the iconic Hong Kong megastar with their new month-long tribute campaign entitled Dearly Missed Leslie Cheung.

Tune in to 988 tomorrow for a a variety of tribute programmes. At 8am, 988 deejays will be sharing collective memories. Then at 12.30pm, they will revisit Cheung's classic movies.

Every Sunday in April starting at 6pm, 988 will spin Cheung's hottest hits.

988 is also available online (www.988.com.my). 988 is owned and operated by The Star.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Sabtu, 30 Mac 2013